Actually I've done that already! Different type of balloon. Love Instamapper. This will be much lighter, so I could use a smaller balloon. I've written much code for Instamapper and Google Maps together. It will work where there is no Boost coverage, like here 01355.
Can you receive control data with a cheap drone or beacon transmitter? Laugh, it's a joke. But not ROTFL.
It's not going to say "Spy Balloon" on it with big letters. It will look like a lost kids toy. Who said low attitude? I'm going 10k with a stronger Xbee! Or a timer that brings it back down if it loses the signal for long. Simple with Uno. You helped me think of my first control signal. It's going up to the UNO. A signal which will tell it to pop the balloon when it's over an area that I can access. Try that with a transmitter!
Report me? For what? They're going to analyze my Arduino code before I get there?
I was considering using the Xbee Wifi shield and library to get MAC addresses instead of SSID with a keychain. A little extra weight and expense but how cool! More sensitive. Easier too. Is anyone familiar with this library? Does this function exist? It does NOT in one of the other Wifi libraries I checked.
$12.99 keychain video camera + 2GB micro-SD card
"This is an archived page. This product is no longer available and has been replaced by a newer product."
$7.69 keychain video camera (Micro SD card sold separately for $5.59)
Thanks for that link! Just realized I don't really need the Xbee 2ghz radio. Unless I want to control it to bring it down from 1mi away or 6000' up. Instead I can wait until it's over an open Wifi network. Then it will tell me where it is! This will work even if I have to wait until the human finder gets home. It would have printed instructions take me to an Open Wifi for a prize! I wish it would work at Starbucks. Then I'd say take me to Starbucks instead! Much more funny and they wouldn't understand why until I arrived...
In the middle of the Big Woods. Not many houses around except on the main highway. But the few with electricity have Open Networks so their neighbors can share! We don't have cable or phone lines or DSL. Few have dishes. Just Sprint Mifi. It doesn't matter. Even if I can't find any open wifi, maybe I'm too high, it will have a note on it. Take me to Wifi or take me to Starbucks. Then I might know where it is! Unless the Google database doesn't have the MAC address cuz the road is too small and rarely used...
In Orange County, CA maybe 1 in 100 neighbors have open wifi. But in a neighborhood with 1000 houses that is enough. I can store the MAC's along the way. I don't need to find it until the end. Then at least it'll be lower. Hopefully not in the middle of the desert!
sbright33:
I could get the SSID of any nearby Wifi from a small keychain Wifi finder. Then send it via 60mw Xbee.
I would know the approximate location of the Balloon! Enough to find it anyway.
What do you think? Feasible?
I think there might be a few minor glitches in your plan that may combine to make it infeasible.
Keychain WiFi detectors usually just give rough signal strength and not BSSID (MAC address)
With a 60mW XBee you would have to be fairly close to the balloon to get a data connection
Google seems to have blocked access to the BSSID-to-location database. At least the two sites I found that used to be able to query the database no longer work.
I'm going to design it to be failsafe, so that I can bring it down at any time using Xbee when it's over a big field. If I lose radio contact for 10 minutes then it will come down rapidly on it's own. This way it can't get very far from it's last known location on a calm day. This would only happen if there's no road where it's going.
Interesting Wiki! Don't worry I'm not planning to put any bombs in the air. Actually they ARE interchangeable. Xbee makes a Wifi shield. Not sure about the code compatibility.
I disagree. Let's do some math. The one I built as a child can lift 100g with no problem. The newer one at least 200g. The Uno weighs 25g. 9V battery 25g without jacket. I have a lithium thionyl battery in my hand feels like 5g 1.2Ah. Without development board I can get the Uno chip down to 10g including supporting circuitry. So I have 185g left for Xbee and/or GPS. I read the Venus GPS is about 8g without connector. Xbee about 10g. If I didn't already have so much extra lifting capacity I could make a double sized solar balloon. Did I forget something?
So just how high/far did the solar balloon with 100g lift fly? Once a solar balloon leaves the ground surface and gains altitude I forsee issues that will bring it back down. Just haven't seen much on solar balloons indicating that they will operate with any significant payload. Any links to pervious solar balloons flights with payloads?
That was 20+ years ago. It did not go very high, you are correct. But it went 10 miles before I stopped following it. What issues will bring it down? Sunset? 100g is not a significant payload, but it is more than I need.